About SMEA

SMEA was started when a number of employees expressed the desire to have a way for employees to band together (outside of company and union), to create a way to do things together, and help each other out when needed. With the blessing of Bob Piccinini, a group started meeting together to investigate other companies' employee associations and the legalities behind this endeavor. It took a lot of work but all the pieces finally came together and the Save Mart Employee Association became a reality in 2005.

The association is governed by an all volunteer board of directors, comprised of 15 Save Mart employees who participate on different committees, such as a Financial Assistance Committee and Recreations Committee.

Catastrophic Assistance

Financial Assistance Committee. Every Thursday, the Financial Assistance Committee (FAC) meets to review assistance applications. The group of volunteer committee members give up their lunch hour to discuss the many difficult requests that come to SMEA. When there is a request that qualifies for assistance (according to the IRS distribution of nonprofit funds), the FAC may award an amount based on each individual situation. For certain amounts, approval may be required from the SMEA Board of Directors, all of whom are also volunteers.

Hopefully you will never need to apply for assistance, but a co-worker, colleague or friend might. For just $1 a week YOU can help assist a fellow SMEA member and their family during the most tragic of times. It's a wonderful feeling!

Other Assistance

Although you may never need emergency assistance, there is other assistance SMEA offers to all members.

College Scholarships: Every January and August, a select number of $500 college scholarship are offered to SMEA members and their dependants.

Back-to-School Backpack Program: Every June / July you have the opportunity to nominate the dependent children of a fellow SMEA member that you work with (grades K - 12), and SMEA will provide their children with backpacks filled with school supplies to start the school year.

Holiday Meal Sponsorships: Every December you have the opportunity to nominate a fellow SMEA member that you work with for a holiday meal sponsorship valued at $100.

Events & Picnics: Events and "company style" picnics are offered throughout the year to sporting events, and at water parks. These events are significantly discounted to SMEA families.

Discounts: There are hundreds of discounts available to SMEA members that can save you money on your monthly bills, travel costs, shopping or even just going to the movies. Through our online discount page, you can learn about getting a 10% discount off your monthly AT&T cell phone bill, our discounted online Apple store, Dish Network and DirecTV discounts, discount movie tickets, discounts to theme parks and much more!

Like any good organization, we welcome your suggestions for other services and discounts that we might be able to pursue. The more members we have, and more member input we receive, the more we can do together!